Controlling the outboard motors used on fishing boats and the like is a task which may make it more difficult to attend to more enjoyable tasks, like fishing itself. To the extent that a fisherman must occupy his hands and arms in steering or otherwise controlling his boat, he loses the opportunity to concentrate on fishing.
Various foot pedal devices have been used in order to allow operators to control their outboard motors without the use of their hands and arms. Foot pedal devices have been widely used to control electric trolling motors, particularly the bow-mounted trolling motors which have recently become so popular.
A variety of foot pedal devices have been developed, including devices having a single "push-pull" cable and others having two "pull-pull" cables. In either case, each cable has an end secured within the foot pedal device and extending toward the outboard motor which it controls.
Such cables are usually used for steering. In the case of bow-mounted electric trolling motors, the cables are connected to apparatus causing a vertical motor-mounting shaft to turn and thereby change the direction of the motor in the water.
Fisherman using electric trolling motors often want to fish from different parts of their boats, and want to have their foot control devices movable to accommodate their different positions if possible. Because of the increasing popularity of electric trolling motors, recent developments in foot pedal control devices for boats relate primarily to such portable devices. This invention relates to portable foot pedal control devices, which can be easily moved to various locations within the boat to accommodate the needs of the fisherman.
Examples of prior art portable foot controls are those disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,804,838; 2,877,733; 2,968,273; 3,002,398; 3,602,181; 3,606,858; 3,807,345; 3,889,625; 4,130,079; 4,295,385.
A bothersome problem to fishermen is the fact that prior art foot control devices of the type having cables, despite their portability, are too limited in where they can be placed on the floor of the boat. This limitation is imposed by the cable or cables which extend from the foot control devices to the outboard motor to be controlled. The cables are of necessity somewhat stiff and typically extend from the front of the pedal device. This prevents the operator from placing the foot control device in a forward position close to a bulkhead in his boat.
On the other hand, it is usually undesirable to have cables protruding straight up from the foot control device in the manner which would be necessary to accommodate forward placement against a bulkhead, because in many other situations operators want the cables low against the floor.
Given the number of tackle boxes and the amount of other fishing and related equipment often carried in a fishing boat, there often is little space available on the floor of the boat for a foot control device. And, because of the location and orientation of the cables on the device, the amount of space such devices require is often too large. A more compact foot control device is needed.
It would be very helpful to have increased flexibility in placement of a foot control device in the boat. Improvements are needed in the configuration and/or operation of foot control devices in order to enlarge the area of possible placement of such devices in a boat, or, stated differently, to reduce the amount of floor space such devices require.